Soap-Opera Actor Euthanizes Pet Dog, Kills Self

(NewsCore) - A down-on-his-luck soap-opera actor took his own life this week after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his New York City condo, friends said.

Nick Santino euthanized his dog, Rocco, on Tuesday, on Santino's 47th birthday. That night, his guilt over the gut-wrenching decision became too much to bear.

"Today [Tuesday], I betrayed my best friend and put down my best friend," he wrote in a suicide note, according to close friend Stuart Sarnoff. "Rocco trusted me, and I failed him. He didn't deserve this."

Santino -- a struggling actor whose TV credits include "All My Children" and "Guiding Light" -- adopted pit bull Rocco from a shelter several years ago.

The Brooklyn-born performer, who was raised in an orphanage and foster homes, soon began to write about his pet on Facebook, saying, "I did not rescue Rocco, Rocco rescued me."

But in 2010, his building at 1 Lincoln Plaza announced strict new dog regulations, including a ban on pit bulls. The ban did not apply to pit bulls already in the building, but friends and neighbors said Santino began to feel harassed.

"People were complaining about his dog," according to neighbor Kevan Cleary, 63, an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. "It was open season on him."

Rocco could not ride in the main elevators and was not allowed to be left in the apartment alone for more than nine hours.

Santino then was threatened with a $250 fine for having a barking dog, neighbors said.

The building's management refused to comment Friday.

After months of increasing anguish, Santino had the healthy dog put to sleep Tuesday.

Dog owner James Steven Grant said Santino left two rawhide bones on his doorstep and earlier was seen tearfully giving away Rocco's fluffy bed.

A veterinarian told Santino that Rocco was becoming aggressive -- and Santino blamed it on his own depression.

He spent Tuesday in agony over what he did to the dog. The last phone call he made was to a former girlfriend at 2:00am local time Wednesday. Later that day, police found his body in his bedroom. He had overdosed on pills.

Rocco was cremated, and friends said Santino's remains will be, too, and they will be reunited.

"One way or another, their ashes will be together forever," Sarnoff said.

Read more: New York Post